A puzzle game with a slight side of Metroidvania? Yes, please.
Helix: Descent N Ascent from developer Badass Mongoose is a unique indie puzzle game that pairs gorgeous art with even smarter puzzle gameplay. While there is not much to this game outside of those two elements, it’s still a blast to play, even for a short period of time.
Let’s get into it.
So, the gameplay for Helix: Descent N Ascent begins with an ancient mystery. Players are dropped into a devastated landscape where two characters travel through it, both of the yin and yang variety (or Spy vs. Spy – whatever suits your fancy). The characters work as opposites, sometimes almost impeding each other’s exploration with puzzles and obstacles. The mystery they’re trying to solve? It’s not clear at the beginning of the game, but as players put pieces of the puzzle together and progress, the story becomes clearer. And that, folks, is enough to pique one’s gaming curiosity.
Of course, that simple story, lacking initial details, also drives the puzzle and exploration aspects of the gameplay. As players will want to know more about what the heck is going on, they will randomly, and sometimes linearly, run into puzzles and obstacles blocking their way. No dialogue guides players, and no hints say “hey, do this”; instead, visuals cue how the player might overcome the puzzle or obstacle. For example, early in the game, the white player will run into an old arcade machine. The symbols inside the machine don’t give away much, but the game instinctively cues the player to try whatever game it contains. The player dives into the arcade game, completes it, and then an obstacle that didn’t have an obvious solution suddenly has one. That solution opens a passage that leads to yet another puzzle and, inevitably, another video game. No clues are provided other than the game; winning it means progress and becomes a remembered technique to unlock the next passageway.
Helix: Descent N Ascent thrives on ambiguous puzzles that lack hints, but once the player does enough to figure them out, those solutions become tools for future puzzles. Its design is gradual, and its execution is simple. Even when the game might make the player feel lost, the solution is typically right in front of their nose and becomes a tool for the next puzzle encountered. Essentially, the game wants the player to truly figure out what is going on and how to proceed. The stress comes from unlocking the solution, and not anything else. Urgency comes from the need to push forward and nothing more. It’s a true adventure driven mostly by exploration and puzzles. It’s just that simple on paper, yet complicated in its execution.
Now, just because this game is driven by puzzles that don’t hold the hands of players doesn’t mean it lacks other meaningful elements beyond those. This puzzler also includes some Metroidvania-like gameplay elements earned through progression. These techniques eventually create a tool belt of solutions the players can use to overcome some obstacles. For example, one tool at the beginning lets players build giant blocks. Players can use these blocks as weights to trigger something on the floor, or as bridge elements to cross paths separated by water. Of course, to make it more complicated, the tools include some limitations. With the blocks, the player can make only two blocks at a time before one crumbles. That means if a player confronts three triggers on the floor, they have to figure out how to use something else to overcome that obstacle.
The folks at Badass Mongoose added a bit of complication and limitation to tools used for solutions. They incorporated these tools perfectly into the puzzles and limited their use to make the puzzles even more complicated. They created a challenge and solution with these tools, which makes the game much more entertaining than expected. It also feels more cognitively satisfying, since picking the right tool is up to the player, and succeeding with it drives motivation and progression. Major kudos to the devs for creating tools and puzzles that are well-designed and balanced, which makes the game even more entertaining and deeper/richer.
The only downer might be the game’s confusing environmental design elements. While the game is hand-drawn and gorgeous (it’s a very gorgeous game), sometimes the environments blend into each other and make it hard to tell whether areas are new or ones seen before during gameplay. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but there were several times when I didn’t know whether I had visited an area before or if it had similar elements to places I’d already seen. Repeating environmental elements and the black-and-white graphics don’t help. But maybe that was intentional. Maybe it was to add a bit of overhead confusion to the puzzle process and get the player to hyperfocus on their environment, as well as the puzzle they’re encountering. Who knows? But it can get confusing and frustrating at times, and that doesn’t take much from the adventure’s entertainment value. This game is built on exploration and problem-solving, and confusing environments seem to fit that gameplay design.
Anyway, overall, Helix: Descent N Ascent is a fun puzzle game with some nicely implemented Metroidvania elements in the mix. Its puzzles are difficult, but not too difficult, and they’re creative as hell. On top of that, the art style is gorgeous and mesmerizing, leading the narrative silently yet saying so much visually to fill in any story blanks.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap up this review.
Conclusion
Helix: Descent N Ascent from developer Badass Mongoose is an addictive, gorgeous puzzle game that features some well-placed Metroidvania elements. It can be confusing and sometimes frustrating, but it’s a hoot to play overall.
